As political scandals go, having extra backyard work done without permits might not seem so shocking.

But on Thursday, the revelation that Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying had unauthorized building structures on his property led opposition lawmakers to try and unseat Mr. Leung through a motion of no confidence. The motion failed in the city’s legislature in a 34-27 vote late Wednesday night.

Earlier this week, Mr. Leung also appeared before the city’s legislature and was publicly excoriated by members who drilled him on the subject of sundry unauthorized works on his property, turning the subject into one of high drama. Some of these works included the erection of a glass canopy, a garden trellis, and the construction of a 300-square-foot basement that legislators dubbed, less prosaically, a “secret chamber.”

Advertisement

To address his critics, Mr. Leung last month released a 14-page statement as well as an additional 40-page annex detailing, among other things, sales documents, building plans and more. He noted that many of the unauthorized additions were done by the previous owner, and said he regretted any oversights or miscommunication with the public on the topic.

In what was billed as a question-and-answer session on Monday, legislators used the time to scold Mr. Leung for failing to disclose the structures before he was selected to lead the city earlier this year. Many members also pressed Mr. Leung repeatedly to resign, or at least to pledge that he wouldn’t run for another term of office.

“I must admit there was oversight on my part and my explanation wasn’t clear. I must again solemnly offer my apologies to citizens,” Mr. Leung told lawmakers Monday.

The buildings department said this week that Mr. Leung has removed the structures, and as a result is not facing any official sanctions. The rating and valuation department said that any value added to the property by the illegal structures had been reflected in the property taxes paid by Mr. Leung.

Still, Mr. Leung remains the target of fierce attacks by the city’s pan-democrats on the issue. “You are a liar and you are a person of dubious character,” one pro-democracy legislator, Raymond Wong, charged Mr. Leung in this week’s question-and-answer session. “How many strokes are in the Chinese character shame? [You] don’t know how to write the character shame!”

In reply to concerns raised by legislators such as Mr. Wong, Mr. Leung said Monday that he had been unaware that there were illegal structures on his property and had never tried to hide them, noting that he had previously invited reporters to openly tour his home. “When I discovered there was a problem I dealt with it of my own initiative,” he said.

Part of the anger stems from the fact that Mr. Leung won the chief executive office after his opponent, Henry Tang, was undone by the exposure in local media of his ownership of a large unauthorized basement that contained a wine cellar, among other luxury additions. The revelation outraged the city’s residents, the vast majority of whom live in tiny apartments.

Since taking office in July, Mr. Leung’s administration has been buffeted by numerous street protests, including the 400,000 demonstrators who marched on the day of his inauguration. Many were calling for the resignation of Mr. Leung, who is viewed by the city’s pro-democracy activists as being too closely allied with Beijing. Last weekend, hundreds of protesters also took to the streets to protest Mr. Leung’s illegal building structures.

A survey conducted by the University of Hong Kong and released last week found that 64% of respondents said the scandal had damaged their view of Mr. Leung.

Expert Insight

China’s territorial ambitions in the East and South China seas are by now well-documented. Much less understood is one of the key factors in the country’s ability to realize those ambitions: an increasingly well-funded and capable maritime militia.

The U.S. has been urging allies to steer clear of Asia's new China-led infrastructure investment bank. Robert Zoellick, former president of the World Bank, calls that approach mistaken on multiple levels.

Can legal reform and Communist Party control coexist in a way that will benefit Chinese governance and society?This is the question that confronts the country in the wake of its annual legislative gathering.

China's just-concluded legislative sessions seem to be another example of the deinstitutionalization of politics under Xi Jinping. Months from now, these meetings won’t be seen as harbingers of reform, so much as another lost opportunity, writes CRT analyst Russell Moses.

About China Real Time Report

China Real Time Report is a vital resource for an expanding global community trying to keep up with a country changing minute by minute. The site offers quick insight and sharp analysis from the wide network of Dow Jones reporters across Greater China, including Dow Jones Newswires’ specialists and The Wall Street Journal’s award-winning team. It also draws on the insights of commentators close to the hot topic of the day in law, policy, economics and culture. Its editors can be reached at chinarealtime@wsj.com.